Reflections

  Jesus Christ, who Redeems Isaiah 12:1-6   "With joy, you will draw water from the wells of salvation. " Isaiah 12:3 In West Africa, a single well that is 50 meters deep can provide clean water for 2,000 people. Reliable access to safe, clean water is essential for drinking, cooking, washing, and watering crops for many worldwide. In Isaiah, we read, "you will draw water from the wells of salvation." What does it mean by the wells of salvation. Wells of salvation in Isaiah 12:3 is plural. Although the well is a place full of water, in this verse, wells are the places and the times when we come to Jesus. Furthermore, there is no place or time when He is not ready to meet us. Isaiah 12:2 says, "Behold, God is my salvation; I will trust, and will not be afraid; for the Lord God is my strength and my song, and he has become my salvation." A well is self-refilling. The phrase "wells of salvation" speaks of plenty. We can come to this well whenever we...

  Hosanna: Jesus' entry into Jerusalem - Alternative Style of Kingship Hebrews 5:5-10 “(v.7) “During the days of Jesus’ life on earth, He offered up prayers and petitions with fervent cries and tears to the One who could save Him from death, and He was heard because of His fervent submission”     The passage for today’s reading emphasizes on both Christ’s divinity and humanity.  Jesus is the Great High Priest.  The passage also emphasizes that Christ was chosen and called by His Father.  In v.6 where it says that “You are a priest forever, in the order of Melchizedek”, it is important to remember that Melchizedek was a priest of God as well as a king, and he is said to remain as a priest forever, he was a priest of God in Salem, which is Jerusalem.  So, saying in the order of Melchizedek is reminding us of Jesus’ permanent priesthood as well as kingship.  Christ’s authority and superiority is reminded here, being above all priests and kings. In v....

  Hosanna: Jesus' entry into Jerusalem - Alternative Style of Kingship Colossian  1: 15-23 “Once you were alienated from God and were enemies in your minds because of your evil behavior. But now he has reconciled you by Christ’s physical body through death to present you holy in his sight, without blemish and free from accusation-“. V21-22    In this passage Paul reminds the Colossians the need for reconciliation and the significance of Christ’s death on the cross. Before the ultimate sacrifice of Christ, we were “alienated” separated from God by the sins of the world. Yet God took the initiative and reconciled our relationship to him by giving his only begotten Son. This unconditional love can never be repaid; we are forever in debt of His love and mercy. The goal of reconciliation is to become holy, blameless and above reproach. We may face many trials and temptations in this world, but we must remain faithful and steadfast through prayer. As Paul wrote to the Roma...

  Hosanna: Jesus' entry into Jerusalem - Alternative Style of Kingship Zechariah 9: 1-12 Rejoice greatly, O daughter Zion! Shout aloud, O daughter Jerusalem! Lo, your king comes to you; triumphant and victorious is he, humble and riding on a donkey, on a colt, the foal of a donkey. V.9   The prophet Zechariah reminds the people of Israel of their past. All of their misdeeds and wrongdoings that were offensive of God. Remember how the ancestors rejected the prophets, and that’s how they got into this predicament in the first place, he tells them. But yes, there is hope – only if they will pursue justice and peace and are faithful to the covenant God made with you. Then Zechariah tells them to repent. We are in a constant battle with the devil. He wants to distract us from God so that we can undo this beautiful creation. Dearly beloved remember that we are prisoners of hope. Zechariah calls Israel to face the fact their hopes had been dashed, because their hope had been misplace...

  Hosanna: Jesus' entry into Jerusalem - Alternative Style of Kingship Isaiah 5:1-20 But the Lord Almighty will be exalted by his justice, and the holy God will be proved holy by his righteous acts. V.16   God pictures His people as a vineyard. “Great provisions for the success of the vineyard were made, rich soil, stones removed, choice vine, tower, winepress, etc. There is no logical reason why it should not have produced the finest of fruit; rather, however, it brought forth ‘wild grapes’, i.e., a disobedient people. What more could the Lord have done to bless His people?  Nothing?” (Commentary on Isaiah, Wayne Jackson, p. 16). God had done everything on His part to set up the nation of Israel for success (Isaiah 5:4). In our lives we need to constantly repent and ask forgiveness and understand that reform can come from that if we are in the right mindset. We are not the best fruit and not pleasing to the Lord, yet he still tills the vineyard so that we can be strong a...

  Jesus Christ leads to New Vision Psalms 126 Vs. 3: “The LORD has done great things for us, and we are filled with joy.”  This Psalm is the seventh of the Song of Ascents beginning from Psalm 120 which goes till Psalm 134. It begins with the verse  'When the Lord restored the fortunes of Zion' which may be referred to the return of exiles from Babylon to Jerusalem. But in a much broader sense we could even consider it to any restoration and speaking to us always.  1. Restoration from captivity to freedom:  We can see a continuation of captivity and freedom constantly happening in the lives of Israelites. Every time they falter from the commandments of the Lord, they end up in much deeper problems similar to what we experience in our daily lives. Yet haven't we experienced the unwavering grace of God that has restored us from our places of troubles (captivity) to complete peace and joy (freedom).  God has been constantly forgiving us for our ...

  Lent: transforming spectatorship to discipleship St. Mark 10: 46-52 Chinese philosopher Han Feizi made this observation about life: "Knowing the facts is easy. Knowing how to act based on the facts is difficult." The account of Jesus' healing of Bartimaeus, a blind man, is found in Mark 10:46-52. As Jesus and his disciples left the city, they were followed by a large crowd. Sitting by the roadside begging, Bartimaeus heard that Jesus was passing by and began calling out the Messianic title, "Son of David, have mercy on me!" Bartimaeus continued to cry out for assistance despite being chastised by the mob. Despite the efforts of those around him to calm him down, Bartimaeus keeps pleading for Jesus. Finally, Bartimaeus responds, "Rabbi, I want to see." Jesus tells him that his faith has healed him, and immediately his eyes are open. He gets up and follows Jesus. This story is a powerful reminder of the importance of faith and persistence. Bartimaeus w...

  Jesus Christ who leads to New Vision Jeremiah 30: 1-10 Vs. 10: For I will bring you home again from distant lands, and your children will return from their exile. Israel will return to a life of peace and quiet, and no one will terrorize them. Jeremiah, known as the 'weeping prophet', is one of the major prophets whose ministry began in the 13th year of the reign of King Josiah in Judea. He continued his ministry throughout the reigns of Jehoahaz, Jehoiakim, Jehoiachin, and Zedekiah. This prophecy came to Jeremiah just before the destruction of Israel and God asks him to prophesize the destruction of Israel and Judah due to their unholy living. God commands Jeremiah to write down the words that will be spoken next indicating that it talks about a distant future after the days of Jeremiah.  Mercy and covenant faithfulness triumph over the judgment and wrath of God As we read the book we feel that God has cast off his chosen people. When we turn our ways aw...

  Jesus Christ who leads to a New Vision Phillippians 3:7-16 Jesus Christ is the one who leads us to new visions. Often, we are stuck with our old selves, not knowing what’s next. This is the time we need to look upon our Lord and rejoice in Him. We should turn our back on everything that would exalt our flesh. Here Paul says, “whatever were gains to me I now consider as loss for the Christ.” This reminds us that Jesus is better than relying on anything else. During the challenges of life, we need to know that, His greatness, glory, and grace are far beyond all the best things in this world. His worth is surpassing. God helps us to live with His perspective. We should seek His help to keep us away from all kinds of glories of this world, which we think will satisfy us. When we are deprived of good things in this world, and when we face difficulties in life, we should get more attached to the gains that we are yet to receive from Jesus. We should not be upset about the losses of thi...

  Jesus Christ who leads to a New Vision Ezekiel 37: 1-14 The scripture portion that we meditate on is the ‘Vision of the Valley of Dry Bones’. The vision begins with the spirit of the Lord bringing out the prophet to the middle of a valley that was filled with bones. These dry bones denote hopelessness. This is the same condition of the Babylonian exiles who had no hopes of returning to their homeland, nor being restored to their pre-exilic condition. The dried-up bones clearly express this irreparable condition of the people who had lost their priesthood and rituals, monarchy and respect, temple and its splendor, and the city of David and its honor. In Ezekiel 37:11, we read “Our bones are dried up and our hope is gone; we are cut off”. Realizing the presence of the Sovereign Lord Even amid this dire hopelessness, the prophet realizes and submits himself before the presence of the sovereign Lord. It is a perfect submission. When asked,” Son of Man, can these bones live?”, the ans...

  Jesus Christ who leads to a New Vision Colossians 3:1-11  Vs 2: Set your minds on things above, not on earthly things. Do you ever wonder where God is leading you and that He just shows it to you? Throughout history, many people have been shown literal visions of God’s will through images and words that communicated God’s plans. Sometimes, God uses symbolism to illustrate his will, as he did in John’s vision in Revelation. Other times, God speaks plainly, as he did when speaking to Ananias about Saul. Though such visions are rare, there are many Scriptures on vision we can learn from in seeking God’s will for our lives. Vs 1-2:   “Since, then, you have been raised with Christ, set your hearts on things above, where Christ is, seated at the right hand of God. 2. Set your minds on things above, not on earthly things”.    As a consequence of our new life in Christ, we Christians need to lift our eyes from the mud at our feet to the stars above. we need to leave b...

  Jesus Christ who redeems Psalms 82 Rise up, O God, Judge the earth for all nation belong to you vs .8   Psalms 82 upholds the faith in a monotheistic and unique God, who rules over all the other Ancient Near Eastern gods and their counsels. The title indicates the selected Psalm written by Asaph, the leading devotional musician of his age. God observes the judicial discourses of heaven and earth The opening part of the Psalm shows a doubt regarding the injustices existing among the divine council of the Canaanite God(Pantheon). But the God of Israel is always against any form of discrimination and injustice. Injustice originate from sinful structures and evil design of the human mind. The Levitical code suggests a fair judgment, “You shall not render an unjust judgment; you shall not be partial to the poor or defer to the great: with justice you shall judge your neighbor.(Leviticus 19: 15). Heaven is much concerned with maintaining the right of the lowly and destitute. The r...

  Jesus Christ who Redeems St. Luke  13:10-17 On a Sabbath Jesus was teaching in one of the synagogues, and a woman was there who had been crippled by a spirit for eighteen years.  She was bent over and could not straighten up at all.  When Jesus saw her, He called her forward and said to her, “Woman, you are set free from your infirmity.”  Then He put His hands on her, and immediately she  straightened up and praised God.  vs. 10-13: According to Websters Dictionary, the word “Redeem” means to buy back, to free from captivity usually by paying a ransom, to free from the bondage of sin, etc.  All these are true from a Biblical point of view as well.  Jesus is considered our living Redeemer because He came to save and deliver us out of sin by paying a great price - His own life.  Our Bible lesson tells us of a great woman of faith.  We know very little about her.  We don’t even know her name.  We only know that she was crip...

  Jesus: One Hope, One Solution Romans 3:23-31 “For all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God, and all are justified freely by his grace through the redemption that came by Christ Jesus.” v 23, 24 Have you ever received bad news but then it is immediately followed by good news? For example, you got a dream job offer after many failures of job interviews, or you got selected by a top college after receiving multiple non-acceptance letters from the universities, or perhaps you find out that your church worshiping community will have your own church building soon, which have not been possible for many years. Well Paul has spent the last several verses giving us the bad news. He has told us that the wrath of God is shown towards all those who  reject God and His ways. If you reject God and His ways, you will be judged. So, what is the solution to the problem of sin? Paul now has some  Have you ever received bad news but then it is immediately followed by good news? F...

  Jesus Christ who Redeems 1 Peter 1: 18-25 “For you know that it was not with perishable things such as silver or gold that you were redeemed from the empty way of life handed down to you from your ancestors, but with the precious blood of Christ, a lamb without blemish or defect.”  vs 18 In this passage, Apostle Peter is providing hope and assurance to believers by reminding us of the precious blood of Christ that has redeemed us from our sins. The passage specifically highlights the redemptive work of Christ, our faith and hope in God, and the enduring nature of God's Word. For today’s meditation, let us explore how these messages apply to our lives:  We have been saved by the precious blood of Christ.  Peter reminds us that we have not been redeemed with material things like gold or silver, but with the precious blood of Christ. This highlights the sacrifice of Christ and the price that was paid for our salvation. Jesus took our place and paid the penalty for our...

  Are we ready to take up the cross? Mark 10: 32-34 They were on their way up to Jerusalem, with Jesus leading the way, and the disciples were astonished, while those who followed were afraid. – vs.32 Here is, Christ's prediction of His own sufferings; this string He harped much upon, though in the ears of His disciples it sounded very harsh and unpleasing. We see here how bold He was;  when they were going up to Jerusalem, Jesus went before them, as the captain of our salvation, that was now to be made perfect through suffering. Thus He showed Himself forward to go on with His undertaking, even when He came to the hardest part of it. Jesus went before them, and they were amazed. They began now to consider what imminent danger they ran themselves into, when they went to Jerusalem; how very malicious the Sanhedrim which sat there was against their Master and them; and they were ready to tremble at the thought of it.  When we see ourselves entering upon sufferings, it is en...

  Jesus Christ Who Redeems Exodus 3: 1-10 “…And Moses hid his face for he was afraid to look at God.” (vs. 6) Think about the ugly sins that persist in our lives. Ask whether we have encountered God in a real manner, such that our hearts are transformed in relation to the bleak spots in our lives? Today’s passage depicts Moses encountering God while herding his father-in-law’s flock(v. 1-6). Years before, he had fled Egypt after killing a man. God now appears to Moses in a burning bush. Instantly he trembled upon hearing the voice of the living God, for he did not deem himself worthy to be in the presence of his Maker.  We encounter God in a multitude of ways each day, from His revealed words in the Bible to the beauty and vastness of the created universe. Yet we often fail to truly value His presence for we are incessantly falling into disobedience and thinking very lightly of these failures. Let us be wary of succumbing to the trap of minimizing and rationalizing our sins. T...

  Jesus Christ, who Redeems Isaiah 12:1-6   "With joy, you will draw water from the wells of salvation. " Isaiah 12:3 In West Africa, a single well that is 50 meters deep can provide clean water for 2,000 people. Reliable access to safe, clean water is essential for drinking, cooking, washing, and watering crops for many worldwide. In Isaiah, we read, "you will draw water from the wells of salvation." What does it mean by the wells of salvation. Wells of salvation in Isaiah 12:3 is plural. Although the well is a place full of water, in this verse, wells are the places and the times when we come to Jesus. Furthermore, there is no place or time when He is not ready to meet us. Isaiah 12:2 says, "Behold, God is my salvation; I will trust, and will not be afraid; for the Lord God is my strength and my song, and he has become my salvation." A well is self-refilling. The phrase "wells of salvation" speaks of plenty. We can come to this well whenever we...

  Jesus Christ who includes All Bible Text : Psalms 87  TThe Lord loves the gates of Zion , more  than all other dwelling places of Jacob ‘  Psalms 87 :2 Firstly a quick background , this Psalm written by one of the Sons of Korah is titled ‘ The Privileges of Citizenship of Zion ‘ and is essentially a song. This is one Psalm that clearly addresses Zion ( The Holy mountain Jerusalem and its temple) which represents the future community of all believers. The Psalms  helps us look with optimism  to the Holy City of God  as described in the Book of  Revelations 21:10-27.  The privilege and honor of being citizen of Zion will be to all those names are recorded in the Lamb’s book of Life  ( Book of Revelation 21: 27 )  .  We have to understand that this privilege is granted purely by God’s grace and nothing we deserve or entitled to in this life, and it rightly ties to the theme for this month and that it is Jesus Christ who includes...